Point of View

The story is narrated in the first person by the unnamed narrator. The narration is addressed to the narrator’s son. The narration uses past tense when referring to events that took place prior to the family’s departure from Homs, and it uses present tense when referring to post-departure events. The narrator is a grown man who was born and raised in Syria. He is married and has a young son. The story begins in a retrospective mode, with the narrator reflecting upon past memories. In one respect, these retrospections are designed to emphasize the tragic division in perspective between the narrator and his son, as caused by the war. The narrator notes that his childhood memories are dominated by pleasant, peaceful memories, whereas Marwan’s childhood memories are dominated by war and violence.

One of the story’s main functions is to bridge...